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Thursday, December 13, 2012

TGIFF - Streak O' Lightning Baby Blanket

I had so much fun making this blanket, that I wish I knew more people having babies so I could make more! This is an easy, beginner-friendly top,which is a perfect distraction if you're coming off something challenging.

The block is pretty ubiquitous, but I found that it has an actual name. In The Quilter's Bible by Linda Clements, the block is called "streak o' lightning" or "endless stair." The variation in colors to this block are endless, and depending upon how ambitious you are, each stair step can be a different color. I was not very ambitious and wanted to keep it simple. As you can see from the picture below, the block is composed of two rectangles of different colors, which are arranged in a staggered pattern.

I was a little iffy about the quilting pattern at first, as I was not sure whether it would compliment the quilt blocks, but it has since grown on me. The pattern is an all-over motif called Modern Squares and is composed of interconnecting round-cornered rectangles and ovals, with little stars scattered about.

Much as I love the front of the quilt, I'm completely enamored of the pieced back. Denyse Schmidt designed these fabric bundles for JoAnn's called Quilt Quarters. Basically, it is four fat quarters printed onto one yard of fabric, which you then cut apart. I had two of these Quilt Quarters (for a total of 1/2 yard each of four different prints), which was enough for the entire quilt, including the backing. I added one yard of the solid (Kona bone).

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Last but not least, I bound the quilt with an additional 1/3 yard of solid for the binding (Kona ash). I used the go-to method for attaching the binding entirely by machine. I was thinking about writing up a tutorial for this quilt, as it would be a great quick quilt as a baby gift, or part of 100 Quilts for Kids. The quilt ends up measuring 36" x 44", using 2 1/2" strips.